Mastery

Heat

Amanda

As soon as the last bell rang, I quickly walked out of the school building. 

I had to get home asap.

To say I was freaking out would be an understatement and my thoughts were traveling a hundred miles per hour.

I had excused myself from the science class earlier and ran to the bathroom. I grabbed toilet paper but it just shriveled up right there in my hands. Tears were rushing over my face and I couldn't breathe. 

Things were burning up in my hands and i couldn't stop or control it. I could feel the heat surge in my hands and then it would disappear again. 

Why wasn't it hurting my hands? I stumbled into a bathroom stall and shut the door behind me before someone could walk in and I would have to explain why i was having a full blown panic attack in the middle of the day in the bathroom. I sat down on the lid of the toilet and tried to breathe. I had to breathe. But as I looked up, a small black charred handprint on the door of the stall made me tear up again. What the hell was going on?

When I finally calmed down, I felt the heat disappear but it didn't come back. I went back for the last 5 minutes of class and avoided making any eye contact with anyone. Mia nor anyone else asked me any questions during the rest of the day so i kept my head low and I survived the rest of the day without getting any weird looks or any more accidents.

 As soon as the last class was over I walked out of the school, practically running home. I lived two blocks to the right of the school and usually i would ride home with Lana who lived just two blocks down from me but I couldn't wait on her today. 

There was a cold wind blowing but i was afraid to tuck my hands into my jacket. 

I was afraid of my hands. 

What the hell was happening? I felt another flare and focused on my fingers, trying to cool them down the whole way to my house. It didn't really work. My fingers were numb and when i reached out for the doorknob, i felt the heat reflect off of it. How was i supposed to open the front door to my house? My mind was racing when Lana pulled up in front of my house.

"Hey Amanda why did you run off? I waited for you"

"Just... uhm.. not feeling too well, talk to you later" I pulled my sleeve over my hand and quickly pushed the door open. I closed it behind me and sighed. Why was this happening to me? What was it? Luckily, my hands hadn't burned through my sleeve. I went into the bathroom and washed my hands to try and cool them off. The water sizzled when it hit my skin.

Relax, Amanda... it's probably just nothing, it's probably all in your mind

When my hands finally cooled off I cautiously washed my face and went into my room where I turned on my laptop.

What if i burn through it?

I needed to find out what it was before i told anyone anything. I pulled my sleeves over my hands and started typing: "heat out of hands"

I got hundreds of links but nothing seemed relevant. Superhero comments and remarks about types of fever. I didn't feel hot anywhere else and I didn't have any other flu symptoms so it wasn't a fever. And I wasn't living in a Marvel or  DC universe.  I gave up and shut my laptop off, deciding to take a nap.

I was woken up by the sounds of my brother and sister running up the stairs and screaming my name. My mind instantly went to my hands but they weren't tingling.

"Amanda, Amanda guess what i made at school today?!"

"Manda, Manda guess me first"

David and Diana jumped on my bed. They were two little kids with the craziest, blondest curls you'd ever see and the brightest of green eyes. My mother's miracle babies.  

"Hey little monkeys"

They kicked off their shoes and snuggled up to me.

"How was school? What'd you make?"

"I made an airplane and it actually flies!" 

"That's really cool dude, and what about you Diana?"

"I'm a princess!"

Ironic. 

"Of course you are, you're a beautiful little princess"

She giggled and I pulled them in closer for a tighter snuggle. I loved my brother and sister to death. They had my mother's blonde hair and my father's green eyes and curls. They were both in kindergarten, but arguably the brightest four year-olds you could ever meet. They were just about to start fighting about who could hug me tighter when my mother appeared in my doorway.

She was petite and slim, a blonde, full lips and a big heart. I loved her so much. She smiled at me and i smiled back.

"I made sandwiches downstairs"

The only thing the twins loved more than me, were sandwiches. David and Diana jumped off my bed and ran down the stairs, shrieking. My mother laughed when they rushed past her and I looked at the wrinkles by her eyes. She caught me staring at her, made her way towards my bed and sat down.

"How was your first day, baby?"

I was hoping all of it had been a dream. But my mind went back to the handprint in the bathroom stall and I looked down. How could i ever explain it to her if there was no explanation for it?

"Okay i guess"

She stared at me intently, like she knew i was holding something back.
I put on a smile and she put a hand on my cheek, searching my eyes before she got up and left.

I let out a big sigh. I sat up with my back leaning against the wall and folded my legs beneath me. I stared at my hands. They were still my hands, except now they would sometimes uncontrollably warm up. I focused on them as hard as i could. Nothing happened. No tingly feeling, no numbness. Nothing.

After i sat there for a while, staring at my hands, calling for the warmth to come back, i finally felt it again. I did it! I was relieved but also freaked out. I could make it warm up, but how do i stop it? I breathed out and closed my eyes. Maybe if i relaxed enough. I counted to about fourteen and... it worked! The heat slipped out of my palms like it was never there. I grabbed a paper off my desk and it didn't burn through. I figured the only way to stop it from happening unexpected was to dominate it. That meant i had to practice and practice till they wouldn't warm up on their own again... right?

I tried bringing it back a couple of times after that but it didn't work anymore. I realized it wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. But nothing ever is.